Letters of Junius 1811, Two Volume Set. This two-volume set of books is titled “The Letters of Junius, A New Edition”, written anonymously and published in London in 1811 by S. A. Oddy and printed by T. Wallis at Hampstead. The books have six horizontal gilt bands, decorative devices and “1811” in gilt on the spine, diced covers with gilt borders, dark monochrome endpapers, and all the edges are marbled. The first volume has a frontis portrait of Lord Bute, then a vignette title page and a second vignette title page, two pages of Contents, an eleven-page Dedication to the English Nation by the author, a portrait of the Earl of Chatham before the first page of text, a portrait of Sir Wm. Draper, 225 pages of text, and Notes that run to page 243. Volume II has an inscription that reads “Colonel Harry C. Grafton, Jr. Duxbury, Massachusetts - U.S. Marines - World War II” on the first blank flyleaf, a frontis portrait of Charles James Fox, a vignette title page followed by a second vignette title page, two pages of Contents for the second volume, an oval portrait of the R. Hon.ble George Grenville, portraits of Earl Mansfield and John Horne Tooke, another of the Earl Camden near the end, and 236 pages of text and twelve pages of Notes, for a total of 248 pages in the book. The author is not stated and Junius is probably a pseudonym, but some people believe the books were written by Sir Philip Francis (1740 - 1818), an Irish-born British politician and pamphleteer - someone who wrote pamphlets anonymously, especially ones of a political and controversial nature. The letters were written between 1769 and 1772 and were highly critical of the Tory government of King George III. Whoever wrote the letters took umbrage with the Tory-minded ministers, alleging they ruined England and drove the American colonies toward rebellion. The letters were reprinted in English and colonial newspapers, lending moral support to the early revolutionary cause in America. Others have suggested that the books were written by Charles Lee (ca. 1731 - 1782), a British-born American military officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and got in trouble with George Washington after criticizing Washington for poor leadership, then proceeding to disobey orders about leading American troops against the British during the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. Lee was eventually court-martialed for his actions, questioning General Washington, and people think his court martial could have been behind the Letters of Junius, but the letters were first published in 1762, well before the Revolutionary War ever occurred. The identity of Junius has never been proven, but we believe the proof is in the portraits. Bute was a dear friend of the King, but wildly unpopular with the public, in part because of his rumored, but unlikely, affair with the dowager Princess of Wales. Bute’s poor health made it difficult for him to focus on his position and he found it stressful to be in the public eye. He was replaced in 1763 by George Grenville, who introduced the Stamp Act (1765), which taxed printed materials in the colonies and drove another wedge between the King and the colonies, and we believe the portraits support the idea that Sir Philip Francis was the author of the letters. The books measure 6 1/4 x 4 1/8 in. wide and are in very good condition, with tight bindings and clean pages and text for the most part, there are brown spots on some the portraits, occasional offset here and there, a couple of small corner creases, loss on the edge of the Mansfield portrait, and the books provide a contrarian view of the political climate during the reign of King George III. #191 #1563